


Hug the Broken

by Momma_Time



Series: Soft Nines [3]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Hugs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-18 16:11:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16122110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Momma_Time/pseuds/Momma_Time
Summary: Kara let's Alice visit Ralph, so long as Nines goes with her.





	Hug the Broken

**Author's Note:**

> More fluff coming your way, y'all.  
> I didn't edit this at all. Lol

This one was...interesting.

Despite how easily Nines could defend himself if the other destabilized, the android's behavior was...unsettling. Unpredictable.

Nines was created to be superior, and nothing should be unpredictable to him and yet, he couldn't seem to grasp how this android functioned, how to plan ahead for any situation. It was like teetering at the top of a mountain. You don't know when you'll fall off or which direction you'll tumble, but there's also a chance that everything will be fine.

Ralph, was his name, what he called himself. His third person speech patterns were odd, but if it allowed him to remain calm, then so be it. His nervous ticks, how he had some fascination with the knife he'd found long ago, Nines could...almost relate. He had his own repetitive acts, things done mindlessly that led to stress if he had to refrain from doing them. He didn't have a thing for knives. Well, that wasn't entirely true. They were fun to throw, but he'd never had a chance to use that skill in his programming, so it was just a guess that he'd LIKE to do it.

The little girl, the daughter of one of Connor's friends, wished to visit the odd android, and once she and Nines arrived, he couldn't figure out why the hell her mom would allow her to come here to visit this man. He could be a danger to her.

But despite how hard Ralph was on himself, how wary and untrusting of Nines he was, it was like he became a whole other person with Alice. His twisted, stressed expressions fell, softened into adoration for Alice. He seemed at peace with her there.

Nines still didn't trust it, and perhaps Kara didn't either, but Kara trusted Nines to make sure nothing happened.

This was a stupid idea, and the woman was a fool. She had to be, to let her daughter walk straight into danger without her willingly.

Alice brought Ralph something she'd made in art class at school, a little gift for Ralph. It was only a clay model of a flower, but Ralph treated it like it was the most beautiful work of art he'd ever had the pleasure of seeing. He was happy, and so achingly gentle as he set it on the mantle to admire again later.

Nines tensed, ready to defend Alice when Ralph suddenly grabbed the girl and dragged her into a hug. Alice showed no fear as she giggled and hugged him back. The little girl had just as little regard for her safety as her mother. But despite Nines' worries, Ralph never hurt her, never threatened, only hugged her close and exhaled in a moment of peace. For a minute, he looked normal, undamaged by trauma and torture. He radiated joy and comfort as the girl showed him love through a simple hug.

Ralph still wished to play the role of her father, for some reason, but after Kara talked to him about it, he was amenable to being her "cousin." A weird cousin, perhaps, Nines thought to himself.

By the end of their visit, Ralph and Alice had coerced Nines into the little make-believe game Alice taught them. He was never that fond of kids before, found them to be loud and messy.

But she seemed to tame the hurt in a broken man, somehow, and Nines concluded that maybe kids weren't so bad. They were powerful beings, more so than him and Connor, if they were anything like Alice. She could calm a storm, brighten a room, and bring a feeling of contentment to the stubborn and proud, to the angry and bitter, to Nines, who was still learning what it meant to love others and be loved in return.

He hoped that he'd meet more children like Alice, and get to play pretend with her and Ralph again some other time if he was ever invited back.

Before the left, Nines went rigid when Ralph hugged him from behind. Not an attack, nothing malicious, just a gentle squeeze.

"Thank you for letting Ralph see her again. She makes him happy."

Nines glanced at him over his shoulder, and then to Alice who was patiently waiting at the door for them. "I...share the sentiment."

 

**Author's Note:**

> Send me prompts for who you want nines to be soft with next. I've got one prompt already.  
> Come say hi on Tumblr at ixhadbadxdays.


End file.
